I enjoyed reading this but I felt that it focused a bit too much on policy and not enough on the relationship between the two men, which is what I was hoping for given the book's title.

I'm a fan of both President Obama and President Biden and really enjoyed the inside scoop of their behind the scenes relationship. Gabriel Debenedetti did a really wonderful job of researching both their backgrounds and campaigns differently. If you like political books don't miss The Long Alliance. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy for a honest review.

The Long Alliance: The Imperfect Union of Joe Biden and Barack Obama by Gabriel Debenedetti, offers an in depth look between the relationship of the two men who worked together as President and VP, the experience helping the Vice President to shape an image which helped elevate him to the Presidency.

Readers who consider this book best ask themselves what are they looking for. Where there are plenty of Washington gossip books available, and though this volume has elements of those, this book is a depth study of the subjects. I found the work, in one word, voluminous.

For instance, at times I wanted to move forward on the time line, and yet I felt stuck in a period of Obama’s presidency as it seemed that every piece of history was mined, analyzed and shared.

This work is an important one for history, and I loved the behind the scenes look at campaigns, which here includes anecdotes that I had not previously heard. However, this book is not for the reader who wants a quick perusal of Washington gossip.

The Long Alliance is well worth the read for those who want an in depth look at this presidential history from our current times.

The publisher made an advanced copy of this book available, inviting me to leave an honest review which I have done so here.

Such mixed feelings . . . .

"The Long Alliance" is very well written. That's a huge plus. The way the book weaves the story of two men, both of whom would become President, is very well crafted.

The book is well researched, except the author had no direct conversations with either subject. That's a problem.

The research Mr. Debenedetti was able to do was first rate. It is footnoted and documented. He read a ton of books, newspaper articles, etc. The footnotes are impressive.

My problem with "The Long Alliance" is the huge bias the author displays. He's a giant Obama fan and a mild Biden fan. Their flaws are either overlooked or forgiven because they aren't Donald Trump. I believe the book could have been a better representation of the men, their character, and their place in history if it didn't hide things like roaring inflation, a wide open southern border, the Afghanistan retreat debacle, the Hunter Biden laptop, and the ever growing Joe Biden mental acuity concerns.

Because of the writing quality and the inside look at the relationship of these two men, I give the book four stars.

The partnership between President Obama and President Biden is well known. This book goes behind the public image of the relationship to explore the more complex dimensions of their relationship and how it shaped both their respective political rises and approaches to governing. A thoughtful read and engaging read for anyone interested in politics or recent American history.

This was a well-reported and insightful look at the relationship between two of the most consequential figures in recent American political history. It offers a fresh perspective on the political rise of each, how they supported each other, and the ways their approaches to both campaigning and governing are similar and different. The author offers interesting new reporting and effectively synthesizes much of the existing analysis on this topic.

Highly recommended!